The museum focuses on the local history of Scottish Nova Scotian migration to the township.

[3] Part of the 150th anniversary celebrations included staging an updated version of a 1953 pageant based on the settlers history.

In response, the museum's 2021 Strategic Plan included planned goals for the museum such as increasing the awareness of the Treaty of Waitangi, collaborating with local hapū Patuharakeke on content, and developing research and acquiring objects of significance related to Patuharakeke and early Scottish migrants.

[2] The archival documents of Scottish migration held at Waipu Museum were included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Aotearoa New Zealand Ngā Mahara o te Ao register in 2016.

[5] In 2019, a 200 year old antique doll which was part of the UNESCO collection was stolen from the Waipu Museum, returned two days later in a damaged condition.